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Day 1 – 20.9 miles

Well, starting off the hike with some miles! Sometimes I forget that winter makes my feet soft, but I think I did pretty good today.

I woke up when the sun just started over the side of the canyon. Mike was up already and had made the group coffee. Very nice way to start the day! We had a campfire and the group ate their breakfast around the ring, talking about the day. Soon I was packed up and the group saw me off. First up was to cross West Little Owyhee, which we had driven over last night, so I had my chacos on and splashed through the water while the others waved goodbye.

The morning was clear and I enjoyed the easy walking on a variety of roads. The way dipped in and out of little canyons, and everything had water. There was much much more water than was referenced on the ODT maps. With all this water were wildflowers. I had really hit this section at the perfect time.

Soon I started some cross country sections, and while the navigation was pretty straight forward, the sagebrush and rocks everywhere made for some deliberate walking. To not pay attention would be to twist an ankle or fall, which I only managed to do once today.

I didn’t really pay attention to my pace, but stopped when I was tired for breaks. I can feel the ache of a first long day of a hike, plus I didn’t sleep well last night.

There's ticks! So the long gaiters go on.

Regardless I enjoyed the day, and marveled that there was still snow in the Little West Owyhee canyon. Beautiful!

I started on an alternate that will take me right into McDermitt, and found the perfect perch on the side of a series of cliffs. One of my top campsites for sure.